If you do not see today’s Fishing Report, please refresh your browser to empty your cache.
Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:21 am, the temperature outside is 71.1 degrees.
It is windy this morning. We will see showers and thunderstorms move in later. Some thunderstorms could be severe with strong winds and hail possible. Rainfall will be heavy at times through today and tonight. Showers are likely tomorrow.
Little River is flowing at 479 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.60 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 251 cfs.
All streams in the mountains that have USGS gauges are flowing above normal. Rainfall up to an inch or more is expected over the next 24 hours. It is going to be windy. This is not a good day to be fishing in the mountains.
Lowland river fishing is probably not a good idea today as well. Water temperatures have risen in the low elevations. Trout and smallmouth fishing will be fair to good. Use nymphs and streamers if you go. The water is swift in some rivers. Wading may be limited. Storms and wind are going to be the issue today.
I do not see much of a chance for fishing the tailwaters today. The Corps and TVA are generating around the clock at most dams. I did see a short break this morning in the generation at Douglas dam on today’s schedule. I did not check them all. There may be others.
We are still operating our store with curbside pickup and mail order. Mail order has grown during the past few weeks. Customers are using our online store or calling us directly to place orders. We are all thankful.
I am still building the new fly tying department on our online store. I will be photographing and adding new items, pretty much full time until I’m done. I think I will be finished in about 4 weeks. You can see that department by CLICKING HERE.
We are doubling the size of our shipping department from one work station to two, anticipating more growth in the mail order part of our business. We have been in the mail order business over 20 years.
We will likely re-open our store to customers on a limited basis next week. We need more time to prepare and learn from other small retailers who have already opened. Many restaurants in Tennessee opened this week.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is still temporarily closed. Park management is working with bordering states, Tennessee and North Carolina, and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians to implement a plan to re-open. I read an interesting article on the WBIR website, featuring comments from Principal Chief Richard Sneed of the Eastern Band. You can read the article on the WBIR website by CLICKING HERE.
Chief Sneed stated, “It would be difficult for us to reopen prior to North Carolina’s order being lifted. Conversely, it would be hard for us to remain closed while the rest of the state is open. We’re kind of playing it by ear at this point. We’ve kicked around the idea of May 15. But, if North Carolina Opens May 8, that’s going to weigh on our decision-making as well.”
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tradd, Rusty and Ronda Little from Greenville, South Carolina. A tornado caused major damage to their home. They were inside at the time but nobody was hurt. Rusty sent me some photos of the damage.
Many of you know the Littles. Tradd began tying flies and demonstrating his skills at many fly fishing and fly tying shows when he was 11 years old. His parents have been very supportive by taking Tradd to these events while meeting many of you. They are a great family who became an important part of our family.
I look forward to seeing them again soon.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
April 29, 2020
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |
